A prevalence of young faces among the 60 landholders who attended two recent grazing management workshops is greatly encouraging for the future of agriculture.
The Queensland Murray-Darling Committee (QMDC) Regional Landcare Facilitator Jean Prow organised the RCS Pasture to Pocket workshops this month at Dirranbandi and Condamine.
She said the number of young people in attendance was great to see.
“It was heartening to see so many young farmers take time out from commitments, despite a really challenging couple of years to learn how they can fine tune their beef and sheep production while looking after their country,” Mrs Prow said.
“In recognition of the tough times landholders are experiencing, we offered the course for $100 for a workshop that is normally priced at $1495 per person for the two and a half days.
“Young people who see their future on the land are seeking innovative ideas and solutions to successfully run their grazing enterprises, and the strong response to these workshops is evidence of that.
“I think people recognise that any educational opportunity offering new ideas and options to enable better decision making around drought, land management and profitability is well worthwhile participating in."
As part of the program and to witness the principles in practice, the groups visited Justin and Kate Boshammer’s property, Elgin, Condamine, and Dunwold, at Dirranbandi, belonging to Duncan Banks and Gerry Grant.
“Part of QMDC’s core business is to protect and preserve our land, water and vegetation assets and this course provided the principles to deliver on all three within a grazing business context,” Mrs Prow said.
Two more workshops are planned for Millmerran on April 22-24 and the final one at Mitchell on May 19-21. For more information, visit www.qmdc.org.au
